Lighting the way for sustainable energy in Midlothian – 1 Lighting the way for sustainable energy in Midlothian A Design Forum learning piece A new Recycling and Energy Recovery Centre for Edinburgh and Midlothian celebrates a positive vision for sustainable energy, successfully integrating a large piece of energy infrastructure into a challenging and changing landscape to provide added amenity for the surrounding communities. Lighting the way for sustainable energy in Midlothian – 3 < Aerial view of site looking South East Background Proposals for a new Recycling and Energy Recovery Centre (RERC) were procured by Zero Waste: Edinburgh and Midlothian, a major joint project between the City of Edinburgh and Midlothian Councils to deliver, through private sectors, dedicated facilities for the processing of residual, or ‘black bag’ waste1. The facility will be located on the site of the former Millerhill Marshalling Yards in Midlothian, on the border of Edinburgh and East Lothian. The site has an industrial heritage, having been part of railway marshalling yards in the 1960s-80s. Located between currently active railway marshalling yards and the former Monktonhall Colliery immediately to the west, the site is now being redeveloped as Shawfair, a significant planned new town development. In an earlier project a section to the north of the site has been developed ^ Former Monktonhall Colliery to the west of the RERC site with an anaerobic digestion facility to deal with food waste. Significant developments are planned in the near and medium term around the site and across the three authorities. This emerging context created a v dynamic environment that both influenced, and was influenced by, designs Location: Millerhill, Midlothian for Millerhill. Being located on the border of the three local authorities, the Project type: Recycling and Energy Recovery Centre project also provided the opportunity to develop the potential for partnership working between the different councils. Client: Zero Waste: Edinburgh and Midlothian Lead designer: Garry Stewart Design Associates (GSDA) FCC Environment was appointed as preferred bidder to design, build and operate the RERC for the initial 25 years, after which it will revert to local Project size/cost: £480m authority ownership – to either run or tender for a new operator. A number of economic and quality criteria, developed by a cross-party group of elected members from both councils, helped shape the brief for the project. The councils were keen for a solution that capitalised on potential for use of waste heat generated by the facility for local benefit, and particularly for the proposed Shawfair community (to the west of the site). ^ Self-seeded birch trees on the site before construction < Aerial view of site looking North East 1 Visit http://www.zerowastefuture.com/ for more information Lighting the way for sustainable energy in Midlothian – 5 Map showing adjacent planned development areas and transport network CITY OF EDINBURGH COUNCIL Queen Margaret University Vision, narrative and design approach: embracing a large piece of infrastructure in the East Coast mainline Whitehill Mains landscape Cauldcoats ph 1 The project takes a positive approach for dealing with a large piece of Proposed allocation infrastructure within a prominent landscape setting. Located along a main Employment arterial route into Edinburgh, the facility will be visible against the backdrop Anaerobic mixed use Site safeguarded allocation A1 of the city skyline and Arthur’s Seat. With the development of Shawfair for future housing Digestion development ph 2 Facility directly adjacent (to the west), and other planned emerging development to the east, the project also needed to address potential impacts of a large Employment facility on the immediate landscape and the relationship with nearby (existing Marshalling allocation Yards and planned) communities. Housing Shawfair allocation masterplan The successful design is underpinned by a strong, shared vision that seeks to celebrate the positive aspects of the facility as a source of future sustainable North Danderhall area EAST LOTHIAN COUNCIL power for the area. The team’s design approach was driven by pragmatic considerations, in terms of how the facility will function efficiently and Newton effectively, and by how it will be experienced, both at a micro level (relating Newton House to the human scale and the immediate environment) and macro level (impact Farm on distant views and the wider landscape). This is articulated through a Danderhall Housing site ph 1 concept of creating a heavier ‘plinth’ at lower level, developed as an object A68 that sits in and opens up to the landscape, with a translucent box above forming a ‘lantern’ in the landscape. South Danderhall Site safeguarded for future housing Shawfair Park development ph 2 MIDLOTHIAN COUNCIL Shawfair Park extension Millerhill site New Sustran City of Edinburgh Route Bypass Planned development Former and existing railway line Borders Rail Line New railway station On road cycle route Off road cycle route Proposed cycle route “Having decided to adopt a form follows function design approach - how do we Local Authority then celebrate such a functional approach? How do we enhance it? How can we boundary ensure it will communicate with people? How will it appeal to those far away or to those closer to the building, or even those using the building? How do we simply and effectively deliver a timeless design as well?“ – Garry Stewart, GSDA Lighting the way for sustainable energy in Midlothian – 7 7 Conclusion “The Shawfair developers were obviously concerned about the scale of the Theproposed site for the facility.proposed Millerhill As part RERC of is locatedthe consultation on brownfield land andassociated design with the process former Millerhill we tookRailway the Marshalling Yards. It is sited with an area undergoing significant change which is, in part, due to the development of the Shawfair new town and the new Borders Railway link to the west. Shawfair team to our operational site in Lincoln to show them a similar sized Thefacility, overall design and solution how is quiet the result and of a well how-considered clean site an layout, operation which, together it withactually the adoption was. of a contextually You wouldn’t appropriate architectural treatment and the use of high quality materials, ensures that the proposed RERC is a high quality, state of the art renewable energy facility for Edinburgh and Midlothian area. know it was a waste treatment facility unless you saw “waste treatment facility” Relationship to the immediate context: Whilston the a ‘form sign! follows This function’ visit, approach along has withbeen underlying continued the design liaison of the buildings, and input it has notfrom stifled Shawfair creativity wher ewhich creativity has been needed. Where necessary we have strayed from being strictly volumetrically efficient to ensure that we have delivered a refined and dynamic architectural design. A design which creating an asset for the community embraceswe undertook the sites setting following and celebrates each the duality A&DS of the design roles it has meeting, to play in recognisin helpedg how in besttheir to mitigate understanding its impact upon its neighbours, but also how it celebrates itself within the broader context lying on the southern gateway to Edinburgh. that this is a clean industrial type process, and that with the right design, The potential for the RERC to provide district heating to the local Bylandscaping carefully considering and the linkages,visual quality, robustness, it would lifespan, help and the affordability facility of materiabecomels, and part by employing of the a limitedwider palette, we have ensured that the overall communities through the waste heat generated by the facility was seen as development creates a cohesive architectural statement and which in its materiality, form and massing presents itself as a family of buildings. a major source of potential benefit of the project (for example in providing developments proposed”.” heat for housing, commercial, community or education uses within Shawfair, – Dave Molland, FCC Environment < Illustrative view towards visitor centre over for Queen Margaret University, or as a back up system for Edinburgh Royal SUDS pond Infirmary at Little France). Beyond heat output, the key considerations for the project team were opportunities for minimising the industrial footprint of the facility, maximising the rest of the site in terms of landscape amenity, and links into the surrounding areas. A positive interface between the facility and the proposed neighbouring community was achieved through the team’s willingness to pull the line of security fencing close to the facility, and in some cases using the edges of the building (eg. the admin building/visitor facilities and bale storage) to form a secure boundary. This allows the south west part of the site to be opened up to provide an increased level of landscape amenity space for the adjacent community, staff and visitors, and better connectivity through the site via a multi-user path. The relationship between the RERC and the planned development at Shawfair ^ Proposed character of green amenity space was particularly significant during design development. Housing is proposed in a triangular shaped piece of land along the western edge of the site as part of the approved masterplan for Shawfair. Initial mitigation proposals for tree planting and an earth bank